East Side Story
by Fangurl Phantomhive
Summary: AU, in Trenton, New Jersey, 17 year old Eric Slingby is living with his 16 year old sister Natalia and their grandmother, while trying to finish school and work as an active member of a notorious gang. After making a friendship with new classmate Alan Humphries, Eric soon becomes part of a scandal that could leave the ones he loves dead and betrayed by the ones he trusted most. R
1. Dedication & Background

This fanfiction is dedicated to my best friend (I won't mention his name to keep his identity hidden). He grew up in New Jersey, and most of the things you're about to read are based off of events he saw and things he heard and experienced when he lived there for the first twelve years of his life. The gangs that are mentioned in this fanfiction are real and exist even to this day, S.M.M. and G-Shine. They still have a rivalry, but the members in the fanfiction are fictional so as not to reveal anyone's real identity.

The fanfiction also will contain strong language, graphic violence, slight torture, gay-bashing scenes, drug use, and a few sex scenes. Viewer Discretion is strongly advised. This is the first time I've ever written something like this, and quite frankly, the research I did to help fill in the holes to questions my best friend couldn't answer shocked me. I hope you all enjoy my story and support my other works.

Arigato readers!

- **Fangurl Phantomhive**


	2. Chapter 2

They weren't supposed to be there. They were supposed to be in Philadelphia visiting relatives for two days; they weren't supposed to come home as early as they did. All he remembered was one minute shooting at G-Shine members who had made an unauthorized visit to their streets, the next thing he knew, paramedics were telling him his parents were both dead; bullet shots to the head and chest. The look of pain and fear that were on their dead faces; the sight of the blood flowing out of the wounds and soaking their clothes, was the last thing he saw before the ambulance took them away.

Eric Slingby opened his eyes and panted rapidly as he sat up in his bed. The seventeen year old clutched the metal dog tag that hung around his neck and carried his parents' names on it. Eric had never figured out who was the one who murdered his parents, but vowed that one day he would get to the bottom of it. He had been having the same nightmare for the past three years, and it always ended the same way, with him seeing his parents' faces one last time. The image was forever imprinted on his memory.

The sounds of gunshots, followed soon after by police sirens brought Eric back to the harsh reality that lie within the streets of Trenton, New Jersey. It was the same thing every night; gunshots would fly off every couple of hours from a few blocks away, followed by police trying to catch the culprits and put another gang member behind bars. Surviving out here was what Eric tried to do every day, whether it was through protecting a fellow blood, or selling cocaine or marijuana to put food on the table for the night.

Looking over at the clock, Eric saw that it was 4:42 a.m., and then heard the front door open and close quietly. Instinctively, Eric grabbed the .45 off his nightstand and crept into the next room slowly. Around here, there were no security systems, all anyone had to protect themselves were weapons. He heard movement in the kitchen, and cocked the gun before turning on the kitchen light. Eric lowered his gun as the person turned around.

"Natalia, what the fuck are you doing home so late?" Eric demanded as he put the gun back on safety.

"I don't need no lip from you right now Eric," sixteen year old Natalia Slingby remarked.

Ever since their parents died, Eric and Natalia had moved in with their grandmother Victoria. Natalia had strayed majorly from her school work and had entered a relationship with one of G-Shine's sub-leaders, Ronald Knox. Now, she stayed out late almost every night, stole clothes and jewelry, and had become extremely resentful towards her brother, since he was part of G-Shine's main rival gang; S.M.M.

"Answer the question, where have you been?" Eric repeated as Natalia retrieved the wine from the top cabinet shelf.

"I was out with Ronnie again, damn Eric, just chill out okay," Natalia said in an annoyed tone as she poured herself a glass of Chardonnay.

"Natalia, it's almost fucking five o' clock in the morning, at least the goddamn sense to call if you're going to be late," Eric scolded.

The dirty blonde haired girl downed her wine before saying "Shut the fuck up Eric. I'm home now aren't I?"

Eric walked over to Natalia and looked at her before noticing her right eye was bluish black and nearly swollen shut. "What happened to you?" he demanded.

"Don't worry about it. Ronnie got a little high off the leftover cocaine and got a little violent that's all. Jeez, what's your problem?" Natalia replied before reaching for the wine again.

Eric snatched the almost empty bottle and threw it at the wall before glass loudly shattered. "You know what my fucking problem is Nat! You know how I feel about you dating that poor excuse for a fuck; you know how I hate it when he puts his hands on you like that!" Eric screamed backing Natalia up against the counter.

Natalia pushed him away before replying "He apologized to me, then made love to me, then gave me Gucci purse to show truly sorry he was. You need to just let this go Eric, don't cause a spark between the gangs, you know how they get."

The siblings walked into their shared bedroom before Eric climbed into bed and witnessed his sister grab a clean pair of clothes. "Where you going now?" Eric asked.

"All I came home for was a quick shower and then Ronnie wants me to come back," Natalia informed.

"What the fuck did I just get through telling you?" Eric wondered. "I don't want you around him, and you gotta get your ass to school tomorrow, you haven't been in about a week."

"I don't need a lecture Eric, especially at this hour," Natalia growled before jumping into the shower and rinsing off. She put her new clothes on, threw the old ones on the bedroom floor, applied her make up again, and walked towards the front door. Eric got up quickly and blocked the front door from Natalia. "What the fuck dude?" she asked annoyed at her brother's actions.

"Do you have your phone with you?" Eric questioned.

Natalia crossed her arms before saying "Yes, I have my phone."

"Then fucking learn how to use it and call me every few hours," Eric demanded before allowing his sister to walk out the door, but not before giving her a quick hug. "Just make sure Ronald keeps you safe."

"He always does," Natalia replied as she started down the dark streets of Jersey.

Eric closed and locked the door before returning to his bed. He was just about to fall asleep again when the alarm clock went off, signaling that it was time to get up and get prepared for another day. Eric groaned as he got up and ran through the shower to help him get more awake. He was determined to go back to school for the second day in a row. Ever since the death of his and Natalia's parents, Eric had neglected school, not as much as Natalia did though. He still went, in hopes that he could graduate and eventually leave the state to find a better life for himself and his family.

Walking back into his room, Eric looked at himself in the mirror and gazed at the scar on his side. He'd gotten that during his initiation into the vicious gang and now had a forever reminder of what he was going to be running with as long as he stayed in Trenton. Across his chest were the letters S.M.M., to symbolize his loyalty to the gang, a symbol which he'd received at the ripe age of only fourteen.

Eric got dressed quickly before entering his grandmother's bedroom. "Grandma, I'm headed out for the day, I'll be back late tonight," Eric informed.

"What will you be doing today Eric?" Victoria wondered.

"Going to school for a few hours, and then going to work, maybe hang out with some of the boys when I get through. I'll call you," Eric promised before kissing her head.

"Please be safe Eric, and look out for your sister," Victoria requested.

"I will," Eric stated before exiting his apartment and locking it up tightly. The teenager hid his gun in his pants while walking to school, and then quickly threw it into safety and chucked it into his backpack. One thing that the gang liked about Eric was, he was more intelligent than he lead people to believe. On the outside, he appeared to be just a normal Jersey teen, trying to go about his everyday life, but on the inside, Eric was a mastermind when it came to getting out of situations and making smart decisions when it was to his advantage.

The blonde slumped down at his desk and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying, but seemed distracted, worrying about Natalia and if she was alright. His sister wasn't always like this; before their parents were killed, Natalia was one of the top students in her class, and had a lot of potential to be someone, but now, her chances were slim to none.

Lunch slowly rolled around, and Eric found himself wandering around on the basketball court outside, with his gun hidden once again in his pants. One of the rules of his gang was to never go anywhere without a weapon, because no one knew where there could be an enemy looking for a fight. Eric watched as some fellow students surrounded a boy who was sitting in the corner next to fence reading. Narrowing his gaze, Eric noticed that he had never seen this boy before, and assumed he was a new kid.

He watched as five teenage boys about his age began to kick at and punch the smaller built teenager. Something in his gut told him it was time to intervene, and Eric pulled out his gun and cocked it loudly. "You motherfuckers better back up off him!" he ordered as he aimed his weapon at the boys.

Seeing the gun, they hurried away before Eric returned the weapon to his pants and approached the beat up boy. "Are you okay?" he asked.

The boy, who was a scared little brunette, looked up at him, and nodded slowly. "Thank you," he muttered.

"You new here? I haven't seen you around before," Eric wondered.

The brunette stood up and said "Yeah, I just moved here yesterday, and I'm still not used to the way Jersey people act."

"Well make friends, that's the only way you'll stay safe here," Eric advised. The bell rang, signaling to the students that it was time to go back to class. "By the way, I'm Eric," the blonde said.

"I'm Alan," the brunette replied with a small smile.

**Thanks for reading! Again, I'm not used to writing stories like this, so reviews would be fantastic! Arigato readers! - Fangurl Phantomhive**


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